Maryland boy beaten over cake died from head injuries: coroner

A coroner has concluded that a 9-year-old Maryland boy who was fatally beaten over a missing piece of birthday cake died from head injuries, a spokeswoman for the agency said on Tuesday.

The death of the boy, Jack Garcia, was a homicide, the spokeswoman for the District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said.

Prosecutors allege that Jack was handcuffed and beaten by his mother’s boyfriend, Robert Wilson, for eating a piece of birthday cake without permission on June 30 in Hagerstown, Maryland, about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Washington.

Jack died in a Washington hospital on July 5. Wilson has been charged in Washington County, Maryland, with second-degree murder, child abuse and other counts.